Mad Skills

Zak continues to dazzle and delight us with new skills. In the last two weeks, he has started:
* Playing peekaboo
* Taking a few steps
* Splashing in toilet water (we don't like this one so much)
* Clapping

As for the last item, he did a really cute thing yesterday. I let him sleep next to me after his 5 AM feeding. I woke up and he was starting to stir so I said his name. He smiled, eyes still closed. Then I said his name again. He opened his eyes, saw me, smiled, and clapped his hands. Can you imagine being so happy to see someone you clap? Well, it melted my heart and I thought of it often during the day as he almost continuously got himself into trouble.

My Turkeys

Thanks-giving rolled around again, and my Mom and brother came to visit. The weather was unseason-ably warm in Columbus (though still too chilly for Mom's taste) so we were able to get outside a few times. We spent most of the time eating, though... we had a huge, delicious Thanksgiving feast, courtesy of my Mom (although I did help!). And Danny made some breakfast burritos for everyone, with my Grandma's chile on the side. Unfortunately, there are no pictures of my Mom because, as usual, she refused to be photographed and hid behind any convenient object (Zak, the turkey, etc.) whenever a camera appeared.

We crammed a lot into the weekend: COSI (our science museum), geocaching, a movie for the grownups, home repairs... but one of my favorite things was just hanging with Danny and my Mom at the hardware store. Also, it had been a long time since my brother had seen Isabel, and he'd never met Zak before, so it was really great to see them all interacting. The only bad part of the weekend was that it reminded me how unfortunate it is that our family lives so far away!

Baby Season

Don't drink the water, ladies... everyone I know is getting pregnant or giving birth! It's actually been really fun for me to watch some of my closest friends and family members go through this. And selfishly, it gives me more breeders to commiserate with and get advice from. So to all you new moms and mamas-to-be: congratulations! And when you're up at 2, 3, and 4 in the morning, just remember, the rest of us are probably up with you!